CRATE EXPECTATIONS: Pop In A Box

Pop In A Box is a very new (as in just started in the US this past month) monthly subscription service that focuses on Funko branded collectibles, such as Pop! figures, Dorbz, Hikari, Fabrikations and more. They reached out to us and asked if we’d be interested in sampling their service and introducing them to our readers. As the resident Pop! fanatic, this task fell to me. In the interest of full disclosure, Pop In A Box sent me 6 figures. First, an introduction to the website and the service, in handy dandy question and answer form, then on to the Pops themselves.

Q: What is Pop In A Box?

As alluded to previously, Pop In A Box is a new service in the US (previously available to our friends in the UK) that brings you Pops, and potentially other Funko collectibles, straight to your door every month. No trips to the mall or digging through the selection at other stores, just pure Pop goodness in your mailbox.

Q: Can I ask what, exactly, is a Pop?

Well voice in my head, you should already know since you’re me. But, for those who don’t, Funko POP! vinyl figures are super deformed (chibi) caricatures from popular pop culture properties such as: Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Marvel and a whole host of others. These figures come in the common form, exclusives which are only produced for a certain entity (Walgreens, Hot Topic, San Diego Comic Con) and chase varieties which are limited and hard to find. Those of you familiar with cover variants of comics will understand what’s going on. That said, POP! figures are awesome. Everyone should collect them, or at least have a few on their desk.

Q: How does Pop In A Box work?

The process is very simple. Visit the website and create an account. Then you scan through their vast list of items and tag them with a Thumbs Up (these go on your wishlisht) or Thumbs Down (these go in the Pop Grave and you’ll never receive them). Each month, Pop In A Box will ship you a random Pop from your wishlist (Here’s my wishlist). Thus, you are guaranteed to get a Pop you want but you still have the mystery of not knowing which one. It’s the best of both worlds! Additionally, every month, 500 exclusive figures are randomly given away and you have the chance to get an exclusive or chase variant of a POP!. How cool is that?

Q: That’s pretty cool, but what do I have to Thumbs Up everyting?

No! That could take awhile and not everyone is as insane as me. If you don’t categorize a POP!, you’re telling the system you don’t mind receiving it. But, their algorithm will select figures from your Wishlist (Thumbs Up) first, then from the non-categorized figures. If there are none left to send you, you won’t get a figure nor will you be charged.

What subscription plans are available?

Pop In A Box has several monthly subscription plans, ranging from 1 POP! a month to 12 POP!s month, with the price ranging from $9.99/month+shipping on up to $107.99/month+shipping if you’re getting the extra large plan. Regular price on a standard POP! is roughly $10, while the bigger ones and the rarer ones can cost up to $25 MSRP. You’re paying a slight premium if you buy just one a month, but there’s no hassle involved and all figures are conveniently located in your mailbox or front doorstep every month.

Is there anything else useful to know about Pop In A Box?

Yes indeed! Even if you aren’t interested in the monthly service, Pop In A Box has a very nice Collection Tracker you can use to track what figures you have. Their database of POP!s is extensive, though not necessarily exhaustive. For instance, they didn’t have my Sherlock With Skull POP! from Hot Topic. A quick email fixed that and now it’s in my tracker, which you can see here. This is a very nice service all on it’s own. I think that’s it so let’s get on to the figures!

First up, I received each POP! in a separate box, which was just large enough to fit the POP!. Also, they were wrapped up nicely in bubblewrap. Though there was a bit of room to move, I didn’t notice any appreciable damage to any of the boxes, which are the most important part for the hardcore collectors.

The Feral Ghoul from the Betheseda series of Fallout games. Since Fallout 4 just came out, this is a serendipitous arrival. I’ll have him next to the PC while I wantonly destroy hundreds of his compatriots as I rampage through the Capital Wasteland!

It’s Groot! Who doesn’t like Groot? No one! It’s not a baby Groot, but I have one him being held by Rocket Raccoon. I think I’ll put them together.

Yes, Funko has Gotham POP!s. Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be. This is a great treatment of Harvey Bullock, complete with hat and trench coat. I like this one a lot.

Thanks to the random number generator, I also received Jim Gordon! Now I have a matching pair of Gotham’s boys in blue. Well, boys in suits. The “normal” ones. I like the badge and gun, nice touches.

Aww yeah. Mycroft Holmes from the BBC series Sherlock! That’s pretty darn awesome. I can put him in between my Sherlock figure and the Moriarty With Crown figure. As a buffer. Yeah.

And lastly, the Robot Devil from Futurama! This guy is great and is my first Futurama POP! I’m sure I’ll be getting more.

So the question is, should you sign up? If you’re into collecting POP! figures, I think you should give Pop In A Box serious consideration. They have a wide selection to choose from and you don’t really have to do anything more than tell them what you want. Add in the chance to receive rarer POP!s and I really like the idea of this service. So much so that I’m signing up. If you’re interested, you can click the banner at the top of the page and get 5% off your first figure and you can join me in my POP! madness…

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